It All Comes Out
by bookdiva
Summary: Set in Sound and Vision: If Annie's phone hadn't gone off, here's what would've happened in my mind . Probably not on the show, but Auggie was being an idiot, so I thought just this once he deserved a little bashing. I mean, since when has he been so...blind? I may continue, but I want to see the response first. If you want more, review and let me know! 3 bookdiva
1. Blindness

I clicked off my phone and turned away from where I knew she was standing, trying to mask my anger.

How could she do this to me? How could she not trust me? How could she treat me like a… like a burden? Annie Walker, of all people?

We were going home. God, I didn't usually hate that word. Then again, I didn't usually go home a loser.

"I see a cab stand ahead," she said rather softly. I had to strain my ears over all the noise on the streets.

"I can't believe you're pulling the rip cord," I said, ignoring her comment. She was immediately defensive.

"That was Joan's call, not mine."

"Because you put it in her head. You don't have to band with her." _Why is she not listening?_

"We are out numbered and out flanked!" she exclaimed, but I sensed a slight tremor in her voice. She had to know that I knew that was crap.

"Since day one you have been bucking Joan's authority like it is a source of pride and now all of a sudden you salute and fall in mock step." I paused as realization dawned. "It's because of me, isn't it? You think I'm some kind of a burden."

"I do not think you're a burden," she replied, almost too quickly.

"Then why did you come back up the stairs to help me?"

"Because you were down."

"You should've gone for the package. That was the mission; to get the package home, not to help me." I was metaphorically seeing red. "I don't want to go back to the way things were. I don't want to get stuck behind my desk. I want to go forward with my life, across the board, but I don't have a Lena in my corner. My only champion is Joan. If I disappoint her—"

"You won't disappoint her, she wants us to follow orders," Annie quickly reassured me.

"Oh, c'mon Annie. She wants a win." I paused. "So do I."

"God, Auggie," Annie spat out. Suddenly her hands were on my chest and she shoved me away. I teetered on the edge of falling on my rear. "You think you're the only one who wants things they can't have? Huh? You think you're the only one in pain here?" she asked hotly. "Well guess what August Anderson. You're not." She took a deep breath. "Did it ever occur to you," she continued while I was still struggling to keep my balance, "that I came back to help you because _I _needed to know that you were okay? Because _I _couldn't go on if something had happened to you? Because for once in my life, something mattered more to me than the mission?" She let out a frustrated sigh. "God, Auggie… I never thought you were so blind."

She turned on her heel and walked away, and left me wondering what it all meant.


	2. Waitress

"_God, Auggie, I never thought you were so blind."_

The last words she'd said echoed in Auggie's mind as he heard her heels click. She was moving away from him, leaving him there alone.

"Annie, wait!" he called out to her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find RedRover," she called back softly, though there was a bitter edge to her voice. "Are you coming or not?"

"Annie, what—" he was cut off by her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh honey, don't be silly," she trilled too loudly. "We should go back to our room and…" she trailed off suggestively.

Auggie gulped. Her sudden mood change could only mean one thing: they were close to being made by yet another source.

"Wha—whatever you say… darling…" he managed to choke out. He knew that something was definitely off, but he also knew that now was not the time to figure it out.

She took his hand and led him through what felt like throngs of people. They took many unnecessary turns and weaved through shops. Every once in a while, Annie would make a comment about their surroundings.

"Oh, look at this beautiful scarf! I wish I'd remembered some money."

"Honey, remind me to come back for that lovely tea set tomorrow."

And so on.

He could tell from these small hints that they were not headed to their hotel room. They were headed to the café where the waitress had seen RedRover.

At one moment, when she was particularily close, he leaned in and whispered,

"What the hell are you doing?"

She tightened her grip on his arm, and leaned into him.

"I have a theory. Just shut up and go along with it." She paused, then leaned in so that she was almost kissing his cheek. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble playing the ignorant blind guy."

Then she wrenched her body from his grasp, slid her hand down his arm to take hold of his hand, and roughly led him the remaining distance.

"Hi, sir!" she called brightly to the man at the counter. "I'm so very sorry to bother you, but I forgot to tip my waitress yesterday, and I was wondering if you'd mind if I did so today."

The man went on to respond that she was off today, but that he'd be happy to give her an address. Auggie was shocked at the man's stupidity, but if the man's stuttering was anything to go by, Annie had released her full _charms_ on the man. Auggie knew the poor guy hadn't stood a snow ball's chance in hell.

Not three minutes later they were in a quiet alley, and Auggie finally had a chance to voice some of his thoughts.

"Okay," he said, trying to scrounge up some anger to cover his hurt and confusion. "Want to tell me your brilliant plan here?"

"Well," Annie began slowly. "RedRover didn't seem like the type to let anyone have a clue to her identity. So, either we'd find a dead body, or…" there were foot steps behind him, "…we'd find you. RedRover."

"How did you know?"

_The waitress?_


	3. No Regrets

"The waitress is… you're RedRover?" I asked incredulously. "Honey, how'd you—"

"God Auggie," Annie scoffed, cutting me off. "We're not still in our covers. Try, for a moment, to be the spy I thought I knew."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

"Dammit, Annie," I shouted, no longer able to contain my confusion at her snarky comments. "What does all this mean, huh? How are you hurting? What am I so blind to?" She didn't respond. Then again, none of these were the question that I was so burning to ask. "Why didn't you just go for the package?"

There…. It was out.

She didn't answer for the longest time. Then, she took in a deep, shaky breath.

"What would you have done?" she asked me quietly.

_Wait, is she… crying?_

Annie Walker never cried. Yet here she was, crying. Because of me—or at least because of something I said.

Annie Walker. Crying.

What would I have done? There wasn't a rational answer to that question; Annie never would've been in my situation in the first place.

_But what if she had? _ I asked myself.

I didn't even have to think of it. Of course Annie would be more important than any mission. She _was _my mission: get Annie home. Always.

"I guess I already knew that," she whispered.

_Wait, what? Can she read minds now? Did I say that out loud?_

Then she cleared her throat.

"I won't make the same mistake again," she said stiffly.

Again, _what?_

"Look," Annie said, clearly putting her back to me. "I'll spare you the whole patriotic, doing-good-feels-good speech. I know you don't really give a crap about any of that, and to tell you the truth, neither do I right now. So how about this: we'll pay you double what you're making now."

"Triple," the waitress/hacker fired back.

"Done," Annie said. It sounded like they shook hands.

Never in my life had I felt as blind as I had on this trip with Annie. Everything was falling apart, and I had no idea how to stop it.

"…and anything else you might need," Annie was saying. "We have to get out of here."

"I'll be ready in five minutes," RedRover replied. Then she was gone, soon followed by the sound of drawers being opened and shut quickly.

"Annie—" I began, but she cut me off.

"Look, I get it, okay?" she snapped. "You don't have to explain it to me. You would've gone for the package and left me on the steps."

"What—" I sputtered.

"It's fine, Auggie," she sighed. "I get it. I shouldn't have expected anything else. But for what it's worth," she dropped her voice to barely a whisper, "I don't regret it. I could have a million re-dos, and I'd go to you every time."

I opened my mouth to tell her that I would go to her, too. Always to her, but RedRover chose that moment to reenter, and Annie's _'Super Spy'_ act was back up. Now she was Annie Walker, CIA; not Annie Walker, my suddenly vulnerable best friend.

"I'm ready."

"Great," Annie responded. In the span of three seconds, she was on the other side of the room. "Let's go."

There was a tangible stillness in the room.

"No regrets," Annie said softly. For a moment I was sure she was talking to me.

"No regrets," RedRover responded. Was it just me, or did I hear a slight smile in the shady hacker's voice? The door closed, then there was a hand on my arm, but it wasn't Annie's.

"This way," RedRover said softly to him. "You're with me now. Annie went ahead to make sure we're in the clear."

"Wait, Annie's out there… alone?"


	4. To Trust

"Wait, Annie's out there… alone?"

"She led those goons the other way," she explained causally, still moving. "Wait right here, and when I get back I'll tell you the rest of our plan." She walked away, but I thought I heard her mutter something like, "_Since you obviously weren't listening before_," under her breath.

A sharp whistle accosted my ears and screeching tires followed.

"Get in," RedRover said, pulling me toward what I assumed was a cab.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "What about Annie?"

"Oh don't be silly," she said quickly. "Your wife will meet us at the airport. She just had to… tie up those loose ends." I'm sure she was giving me a reassuring smile, and for once I was grateful for my blindness.

This whole trip had been so confusing. Being married to Annie felt so… real. So right. Was that just because I was planning to ask Parker to marry me? Or was it really just… Annie?

_But I love Parker, _I reminded myself. _This is just the mission—just the nerves. Annie is my friend; only my friend. _

If I told myself that enough times, maybe I'd believe it. Or not.

"C'mon," RedRover whispered. "We are at the airport. I will fill you in as we walk."

"No," Auggie snapped, stopping in place. His abrupt change in mood and speed caused the waitress/hacker to stumble, but she wasn't able to make him budge. "You'll tell me right now."

"Oh, fine," she sighed. "No need to be overly dramatic. Annie is meeting us on the flight, and if she does not make this one, she will catch the next one. She said something about 'standard misdirect and evade'. Then she made a comment about a _'Natasha Incident'._" I could feel her shrug her shoulders, and I tensed. "I am just supposed to get us to the airport and onto the plane. She said she would handle the rest."

"No," I whispered to myself. "That can't be what she said."

If she'd really said that—if she'd really mentioned the _Natasha Incident_—then there was a chance that the 'standard misdirect and evade' might not….

But no! I would not even allow myself to think like that.

"Fine," I said. "Let's get on the plane. I know Annie will be there as soon as she can."

I allowed RedRover to guide me through the airport, through the check in, and onto the plane. All the while, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

"Okay," I said when we were finally seated. "What is the plan for the rendezvous?"

"Well…" RedRover started hesitantly. "There really… isn't one?"

"There isn't one?" I hissed under my breath. "What do you mean there isn't a rendezvous plan?"

The engines suddenly roared to life and the plane taxied ahead.

"She simply said she'd meet us in the States."

I relaxed back into my seat so as to not bring suspicion or attention to myself. I had to sit back and trust that Annie had the skills to get her out of this mess. I had to trust that, once I got back to D.C., she'd already be there waiting. I just had to trust.

Unfortunately, trust was never my strong suit.


End file.
